Financial stocks end mostly lower

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. financial sector fell in the final hour of trade Monday, erasing earlier gains made in the wake of China's decision to allow the yuan to appreciate against the U.S. dollar.

The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund
XLF, -1.72%
closed down 0.2% to $14.81, after reaching an intraday high of $15.05, mirroring the run of the Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA, -1.24%
which shed the day's 100-point rally.

The broader market also declined late in the day as investors reconsidered the pace at which China would revalue its currency and a downgrade of French banking giant BNP Paribas reignited worries about Europe's debt troubles.

Riskier assets rallied early in the day, after China's announcement over the weekend to end the yuan's informal peg to the dollar and allow the yuan to appreciate -- good news for U.S. and European manufacturers.

Shares of credit-card firms Visa Inc.
V, -1.12%
and MasterCard Inc.
MA, -1.13%
were among the financial sector's advancers, increasing 5% and 4.2% respectively. The companies' shares rose in the afternoon session following an agreement by legislators on the regulation of interchange, or "swipe" fees on credit and debit card transactions.

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